I have a good friend who says he is a friend of the present governor of New York, Kathy Hochul. According to him, Governor Hochul is avoiding coming on my radio show, The Capitol Connection, because her advisors have told her not to. Despite the fact that we have gone out of our way to invite her, her answer has consistently been no.
I just don’t get that. I am cordial with most of the people who come on the show. I have tried very hard to be kind and the only person that I have been a bit testy with was Andrew Cuomo, and that’s because he usually asks for it by being a little on the nasty side himself. The truth is, I really don’t care if she comes on or not, but it looks to me like she is missing out on a good opportunity. One can only wonder why her advisors have taken that stance.
Hochul is the darling of the middle range “inside” Democratic (and some of the Republican) establishment. That group has coalesced around her but she has a problem. While she leads others in the polls, people don’t have a strong sense of her inner character. She is safe but not particularly exciting. The truth is, she comes off as being a little on the boring side.
If there’s one thing we know about politicians, it’s that they won’t be popular if people don’t think they bring something new and different to the table. It’s terrible, but that’s precisely how Donald Trump tricked so many people into voting for him. When it comes time to elect a governor, people look for something new and different. Do you remember when Ed “How’m I doing?” Koch was the favorite and Mario Cuomo came on from behind like gang busters? Hochul has surrounded herself with boring, play-it-safe advisors. That is not the way to win. Right now, Hochul is anything but new and different. Rather, she is safe and predictable and backed by the same old, same old folks who sit and eat at the same old political dinner table. In throwing their support to Hochul, most of the state’s Democratic politicians are playing it safe.
I am sure that her advisors are playing it safe, which is, after all, the best way to lose an election. Right now, the polls show her with a comfortable lead. But most political “watchers” know that polls this far out are not as reliable as the folks who are pushing and relying on them think they are. In fact, not a lot of people are tuned into the upcoming election. I am sure that’s what Tom Suozzi is thinking right now as he continues to fight for primary voters.
I hope that Governor Hochul starts to think for herself and stops relying on these so-called political advisors who keep tripping over their own political shoelaces.
